DIY Scenery Material

thetramp May 17, 2022

  1. Mike VE2TRV

    Mike VE2TRV TrainBoard Member

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    I used 400 grit black sandpaper (600 is good too) that I very lightly sprayed with gray primer to lighten it a tad (way too black as is). I tried printing road textures but every print seemed to be slightly different in tone from the previous one.

    Back to scrap yards. Here's mine with the latest additions:

    IMGP4204A.JPG

    Pile of rusty pipes and stacks of crushed cars are the latest.

    CN 44-tonner #1 spotting a couple of gons with scrap loads too. The scrapyard owner is also what we call here in Quebec a "patenteux", someone who cobbles together various bits of stuff, junk and bric-a-brac to make something useful, fun, or both.

    Someone who would be right at home at Possum Lodge...
     
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  2. thetramp

    thetramp TrainBoard Member

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    Today, I started a new project. I cut out a piece of 1/8" masonite the size of my gondola. I painted that black and saw it was sitting too low in the car so I hot glued some cardboard risers on the bottom. That worked out pretty good. More to come as I move along on this project.

    Base for Loads.jpg

    Bottom of Base.JPG

    Base in Gondola.JPG
     
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  3. in2tech

    in2tech TrainBoard Member

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    What is that?

    2022-05-28_16-29-10.png
     
  4. Mike VE2TRV

    Mike VE2TRV TrainBoard Member

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    Exactly - it's a "What is that?" generator. :ROFLMAO:

    I found that - a toy - lying in the street in front of my apartment. When I saw it, I right away thought it would be right at home in my scrapyard, as a wacky project constructed by the scrapyard's owner.

    It used to be a horrible shiny lavender color (which made it easy to spot on the asphalt). So I painted it to look like some amusement park ride nacelles. The backstory is that the scrapper got hold of some old amusement park equipment and cobbled together an oddball vehicle on a chassis from an off-road amphibious thingamabob. It went down like a lead ballon with the local law enforcement so for now it's parked.
     
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  5. Shortround

    Shortround TrainBoard Member

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    That's what I was thinking. The Tea Cup Ride.
     
  6. thetramp

    thetramp TrainBoard Member

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    Continuing with my project, I had some rock looking material in my scenery container. This material is what is used in a mechanic shop to put on spilled oil and such. Yes, I am still cheap. I strained it to get the smallest I could. I then hot glued the "rock" to my masonite board and also put watered down glue over the top to hold down any loose ends. Then into the car it went. But wait, the project continues after this one.

    Gravel & Scrap Beginning1.jpg

    Gravel in Gondola.JPG
     
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  7. Mike VE2TRV

    Mike VE2TRV TrainBoard Member

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    Welcome to the club...;)

    Brita water filters are cheap supply of coal-like material after they're spent:

    IMGP3315B.JPG

    Dumped a load of it in the hopper, set it with Scenic Cement, and tinted it with some diluted black craft paint. Makes a great way to ballast the cars up to NMRA weight standards too.

    Like the bird says, "Cheap-cheap-cheap!".

    I also sprinkled some around the tracks near the coaling tower - coaling a steam loco is a messy business. Ask the fireman.
     
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  8. Shortround

    Shortround TrainBoard Member

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    Do you mean the clay for cat litter boxes? I have a 5 gallon bucket full. It's a lot cheaper than 'Floor Dry
     
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  9. thetramp

    thetramp TrainBoard Member

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    Don't know what it is called but I retired from a company that had it's own mechanic shop. The shop foreman gave me a grocery bag full of that stuff as he liked model railroading also. So to me it was free:D. I am all about free if I can.
     
    Last edited: May 29, 2022
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  10. Shortround

    Shortround TrainBoard Member

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    Same stuff. I was a machinist and got it there. Filled up my lunch box.
     
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  11. thetramp

    thetramp TrainBoard Member

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    Using the same process as the gravel load, I made a scrap load for that gondola.

    Scrap on Masonite.JPG

    Scrap in Gondola.JPG
     
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  12. Mike VE2TRV

    Mike VE2TRV TrainBoard Member

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    I like that! Looks even scrappier than the ones in my two gondolas!(y):)
     
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  13. thetramp

    thetramp TrainBoard Member

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    Today, I the wife didn't have anything for me to do :X3: so I got a few items together to experiment. I got together cardboard, dryer sheets, hot glue, white glue and plaster of paris. Picture 1, I hot glued cardboard braces then hot glues dryer sheets to that. After that, I spread white glue on the sheets to make them stiff. Picture 2, I put plaster of paris over the dryer sheets to form a mountain. I had made too much plaster so I crumpled up some tin foil for rock molds and made a few. To have more working for the plaster, I put a dab of vinegar in the water before I added the plaster. That worked well. Next, I will try my hand at applying ground cover. It has been about 6 years or so since I have tried applying ground cover so we will see what happens.

    Cardboard & dryer sheet.JPG

    After Plaster.JPG
     
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  14. thetramp

    thetramp TrainBoard Member

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    Same concept different load. For the risers, I used match sticks and I used a thin paint stir stick for the base. The stir stick was the exact size to fit into the gondola. I had to just cut it to length. I than tore aluminum foil into small pieces and hot glued them to the board. Now I have an aluminum load for that gondola. Not sure is the aluminum chunks are to big. What do you think?

    alu. Match stick riser.JPG

    Alu. Chunks.JPG

    Al. Load.JPG
     
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  15. thetramp

    thetramp TrainBoard Member

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    Made some ground cover yesterday with sawdust and colored that green. Will need to strain it to get the chunks out.

    Green Ground Cover.JPG
     
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  16. Mike VE2TRV

    Mike VE2TRV TrainBoard Member

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    Nice!:)

    Just hope that no one will try to make tea with it...:eek:
     
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  17. thetramp

    thetramp TrainBoard Member

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    After passing the sawdust through a strainer, it came out almost like a powder. Just like you would buy fine turf from woodland scenic. In the pictures, it doesn't look that fine but when you pick it up between your fingers, it is fine.

    Strained sawdust.JPG

    Fine Turf Sawdust.JPG
     
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  18. thetramp

    thetramp TrainBoard Member

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    I had bought this black diamond media years ago and never used it so today I decided to give it a try and make a coal load for the gondola. After I looked at the pictures I took, I realized I had some bare spots so those were filled in and it looks better. I will need to put some watered down glue to keep everything in tack than I think I will spray it a clear coat.

    Black Diamond Media.JPG

    Coal in Gondola.JPG
     
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  19. thetramp

    thetramp TrainBoard Member

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    For dirt effects, I colored some sawdust brown than pass the chunks through a strainer and this is the results. Also made some more green.
    Colored sawdust drying.JPG
    Colored drying.JPG
    Colored results.JPG
     
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  20. Mike VE2TRV

    Mike VE2TRV TrainBoard Member

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    Nice!(y)

    It looks somewhat like ground coffee after a pour (or something else more icky after a plop). :cautious: Hmmmm....

    ideabulb100px.jpg
    An experiment is in order.:sneaky:
     
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